Hiram stevens maxim



(No Model.)

H. S, MAXIM.

MANUPAGTURE 0F GUNS.

No. 373,466. Patented Nov. 22, 1887.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

IIIEAM'sTEVENs MAXIM, OE LONDON, ENGLAND;

MANUFACTU RE oF GUNS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 373,466, dated November22, 1887.

, Application filed August 22, 1887. Serial No.

To @ZZ whom, ib may concern,.- E

Beit known that I, HIRAM STEVENS MAXIM,

j mechanical engineer, a citizen ofthe United States of America, and aresident of Loudon, England, have invented new and usefnllmprovements inthe Manufacture of Guns, (for which I have obtained patents in GreatBritain, N o. 288, dated January 8, 1885; in France, No. 169.647, datedJ une 19,1885; in Belgium, No. 69,347, dated J une 20, 1885; in Germany,

. No. 36,329, dated June 23, 1885; in Austria- Hungary, dated August 19,1885; in Italy, dated June 6, 1885, and in Sweden, dated August 17,1885, No. 882,) ofwhich the following is a specification, referencebeing had tothe accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to the manufacture of builtup guus wherein an innersteel tube or lining is employed. Steel tubes for such guns have beenheretofore usually manufacturedby first forging solid cylinders and thenmaking the same hollow or tubular by boring them in a machine, which :isa very tedious and cost-l y operation.

One object of my invention is the construction of these tubes in such amanner that the work of boring the same will be considerably simplifledand facilitated. For this purpose Iunite by brazing a suiiicient numberof steel rings or short tubular sections to forni, a hollow cylinder ortube of the desired length and with a core so nearly of the requireddiameter that it can bevery easily and cheaply finished.

Another object of In y invention is to make built-up guns of greaterstrength in-propor- .tion to thelr ,weight than those heretoforemanufactured. For this purpose I Wind or coil .upon an inner hub formedof rings or tubular sections, as above described, a band or ribbon offinely tempered steel, as hereinafter set forth.

My said invention, moreover, comprisesvarions improvements, hereinafterset forth.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a. vertical longitudinalcentral section of part of a gun manufactured in accordance with mypresent invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal central section showing aportion of one of my guns drawn to an enlarged scale. Fig. 3 is an endelevation of one of the aforesaid rings 147,520.- (No model.) Patentedin England January 8,1885, No. 28B; in Italy June, 1885; in France Juno19, 1885. No. 169,647; in' Belgium June20, 1885, No. in Sweden August17, 1885, No. 882, and in Austria-Hungary August 19. 18H5.

69,347 in Germany June 23,1885, No. 36,329;

or tubular sections. Figs. 4 and 5 areglongi tudinal central sectionsillustrating modifications of my invention.

Like letters indicate corresponding partsin all the figures. l

a a indicate the rings or tubular sections, which are united at b toform a. long hollow cylinder which constitutes the inner ,tube or liningof the gun.

c is the steel band or ribbon which is wound or coiled upon the saidinner tube.

1t is well known that when two pieces of .metal reunited bybrazing thestrength of the joint will greatly depend upon the extent of area of thebrazed surfaces.. Therefore to insure the greatest possible strength atthe `such a manner as to provide a large surface area for brazing. Forthis purpose the rings a are in some cases provided at their ends withannular I grooves and projections, as clearly shown at b in Figs. 2 and3,'.so that when the said rings are properly placed together theprojections of one ring will fit the grooves in the adjacent ring, asshown in Fig. 2. In some instances the grooves and projections areradial instead of annular. I

In some cases I make the hollow cylinders or tubes by brazing together asufficient nurnber of conical rings, which are conveniently shape, andwhich fit one within another, as shown in Fig. 4; or I make the saidhollow cylinders or tubes by brazing together a sufficient number ofrings, V-shaped 'in transverse section, and which iit one withinanother, as shown in Fig. 5.

It is obvious that the hollow cylinders or tubes made up' of rings, asabove descrtbed, can be used either as the inner tubes or linings ofbuilt-up guns or as the outer portions of such guns.' For brazingtogether the said rings or tubular sections I prefer to employ au alloyor compound of the following materials in or about in the proportionsstated,viz: seventy parts, by weight, of copper, ten parts, by weight,of silver, and twenty parts, by weight, of spelter; but I sometimes usevother suitable materials orV alloys fo/rthis purpose.

In manufacturing one of .my hollow cylinmade of sheet metal stamped tothe required brazed joints I make the ends of the rings aiu ders ortubes the desired number of the rings a are placed together and securedby a suitable clamp, the blazing-surfaces having been previously coatedor covered with the said material or alloy. The said rings aare thenheated to a bright-red heat and brazed. After blazing, the hollowcylinder or tube thus formed is allowed to cool until its temperatn reissuflciently lowered., It is then plunged into oil to toughcn it, andis afterward finished by boring and riding, if necessary. It is obviousthat as the rings a, of which the said tube is constructed, have aninternal diameter nearly the same as the required bore of the gun, thisLinishing maybe very quickly and inexpensively eected.

By the peculiar formation of the brazed surfaces, as above described, Iprovide for making the tubes as strong, if not stronger, at the brazedjoints than at any other part thereof.

The steel band or ribbon c is coiled orl wound upon the inner tube inlayers in such a manner that the edges ofthe coils of the,

successive layers do not coincide with each other-Tthat is to say, thecontiguous edges of the coils of one layer coincide with and .arecovered by the central portions of the co-ils of the adjacent exteriorlayer; or the said ribbon is otherwise so wound as to insure thecovering of the edges of the coils of one layer by the coils of theadjacent exterior layer. llhis winding on of the steel ribbon iscontinued until thcgun is of the desired thickness and strength. Whilewinding the cuter coils the said ribbon is, as usual, subjected togreater tension than while winding the inner coils.

The coils of the ribbon are sometimes united and the interstices filledup by means of a metal or alloy-such as tin or solder--whieh melts at alower temperature than that required to affect the temper of the steelribbon. 1n this case the ribbon is preferably tinned previous toitsbeing wound or coiled upon the inner tube, and the soldering is effectedeither while the ribbon is being wound upon the `tube or after it hasbeen wound thereon. By employing this thin steel ribbon, instead of thethick steel tubes usually employed for a similar purpose, I can usehigher grades of steel than those heretofore used. lI am t-hus enabledto impart very great strength to the gun and to reduce its Weight ascompared with guns of the saine strength. heretofore constructed.

On the exterior of the coiled steel ribbon I sometimes t a casing. d, ofsteel or other suitable metal, to more effectually insure the retentionof the said ribbon in place and to enable a more highly-finishedappearance to be imparted to the gun than would otherwise bepracticable. The trunnions are formed in- .tegrally with or firmlysecured to' this casing,

and the said casing is made in sections which are lirmlynnited by boltse or otherwise. I sometimes insert strips of india-rubber or otherelastic material between the said casing and the coiledsteel ribbon.

That I claim is- 1. The improvement in t-he art of making built-up guns,which consists in forming the hollow cylinders or tubes for the purposesabove specified by brazing together a series of rings or annular piecesor short tubular sections, as herein described.

2. A built-up gun formed with 'a cylinder or tube composed of tubularsections brazed together, the portions of the said sections which are incontact with one another being formed with grooves and projections toincrease the areaof surface contact, as set forth.

3. A gun composed of an inner metal tube formed of rings or tubularsections, as described, in combination with a metal band or ribbon woundor coiled thereon'` as set forth.

4. A gun composed of an inner metal tube formed of rings or tubularsections, as described, in combination with a metal band or ribbon woundor coiled thereon, and an external casing, as set forth.

5. A built-up gun formed of or containing a hollow cylinder or tubecomposed ofconical rings or their equivalents, herein described, brazedtogether, as set forth.

In testimony whereofI haye hereunto signed my name in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

HIRAM STEVENS MAXIM.

Witnesses: Y

ROBT. M. HooPER, DAVID T. S. FULLER.

